Planes overhead in SE9
Greenwich, Bromley, Lewisham and Bexley, London. All 1,209 of its postcodes measured, January to August 2026.
From Heathrow
Planes land and take off into the wind, so the weather decides which way Heathrow flies, and that decides how many pass over SE9. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (56% of days): up to 85 a day; of its 1,209 postcodes, 1,205 at 10 to 99, 4 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (15% of days): up to 56 a day; of its 1,209 postcodes, 1,115 at 10 to 99, 94 under 10
- On a day it flies east (29% of days): up to 35 a day; of its 1,209 postcodes, 463 at 10 to 99, 746 under 10
The table counts the postcodes of each sector by how many planes pass over them a day: 100 or more, 10 to 99, or under 10.
| Sector | Flying west56% of days | Both ways15% of days | Flying east29% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE9 1200 postcodes | 200 at 10 to 99 | 189 at 10 to 9911 under 10 | 200 under 10 |
| SE9 2181 postcodes | 177 at 10 to 994 under 10 | 98 at 10 to 9983 under 10 | 15 at 10 to 99166 under 10 |
| SE9 3224 postcodes | 224 at 10 to 99 | 224 at 10 to 99 | 223 at 10 to 991 under 10 |
| SE9 4233 postcodes | 233 at 10 to 99 | 233 at 10 to 99 | 225 at 10 to 998 under 10 |
| SE9 5159 postcodes | 159 at 10 to 99 | 159 at 10 to 99 | 159 under 10 |
| SE9 6194 postcodes | 194 at 10 to 99 | 194 at 10 to 99 | 194 under 10 |
| SE9 918 postcodes | 18 at 10 to 99 | 18 at 10 to 99 | 18 under 10 |
From London City
Planes land and take off into the wind, so the weather decides which way London City flies, and that decides how many pass over SE9. Across its postcodes, January to August 2026:
- On a day it flies west (47% of days): up to 1 a day; of its 1,209 postcodes, 1,209 under 10
- On a day it flies both ways (18% of days): up to 28 a day; of its 1,209 postcodes, 244 at 10 to 99, 73 on an edge, 892 under 10
- On a day it flies east (35% of days): up to 62 a day; of its 1,209 postcodes, 267 at 10 to 99, 75 on an edge, 867 under 10
The table counts the postcodes of each sector by how many planes pass over them a day: 100 or more, 10 to 99, or under 10.
| Sector | Flying west47% of days | Both ways18% of days | Flying east35% of days |
|---|---|---|---|
| SE9 1200 postcodes | 200 under 10 | 200 under 10 | 200 under 10 |
| SE9 2181 postcodes | 181 under 10 | 66 at 10 to 998 on an edge107 under 10 | 71 at 10 to 997 on an edge103 under 10 |
| SE9 3224 postcodes | 224 under 10 | 83 at 10 to 9938 on an edge103 under 10 | 96 at 10 to 9937 on an edge91 under 10 |
| SE9 4233 postcodes | 233 under 10 | 74 at 10 to 9914 on an edge145 under 10 | 75 at 10 to 9914 on an edge144 under 10 |
| SE9 5159 postcodes | 159 under 10 | 21 at 10 to 9913 on an edge125 under 10 | 25 at 10 to 9917 on an edge117 under 10 |
| SE9 6194 postcodes | 194 under 10 | 194 under 10 | 194 under 10 |
| SE9 918 postcodes | 18 under 10 | 18 under 10 | 18 under 10 |
On an edge: the postcode is on the edge of a flight path, where a few metres decide whether a plane counts as overhead, and the fewest and the most within 100 m of it fall in different bands.
What counts as overhead
Overhead means more than halfway up the sky (48.5 degrees or more) and below 7,000 ft, the CAA's definition of an overflight (CAP 1498). A day counts as one way when 80% of its flights used that way.
Near SE9
SE12 DA15 BR7 SE3 DA16 BR1 DA14 SE18
The councils
- Greenwich: noise and liveability score
- Bromley: noise and liveability score
- Lewisham: noise and liveability score
- Bexley: noise and liveability score
Where these figures come from
Counted from community flight tracking, checked against the CAA's monthly totals for Heathrow and London City. Flight tracks: adsb.lol (ODbL 1.0); Weather at each airport: Iowa Environmental Mesonet; Ground heights: Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right; Postcode positions: ONS National Statistics Postcode Lookup (OGL). Licence: Open Database License (ODbL) 1.0.